Dispensers are commonly employed to add seasonings and flavorings to foods and/or beverages. Typically, seasonings such as table salt and ground pepper are dispensed from shakers comprising a single-chamber container or reservoir. The container typically includes an end cap comprising a plurality of apertures to allow the material to be dispensed upon inverting and agitating the shaker. The size and number of apertures generally will vary with the type of material to be dispensed. For example, a dispenser for table salt will typically have fewer apertures than, for example, a pepper dispenser inasmuch as the density and concentration of table salt is such that smaller quantities are desired (i.e., with each oscillation of the container.) Generally, a dedicated dispenser with the appropriately sized/numbered apertures will be employed for each material to control the rate of dispensation. While the size and number of apertures can control the flow rate of material, the user must monitor other variables such as the length of time, number of oscillations, etc., to accurately control the quantity of dispensed material.
Many prior art dispensers address the need to deliver a controlled or preset amount of material by employing two or more chambers and a delivery tube. A first chamber forms a material reservoir while a second chamber is calibrated for measuring the material. The chambers are typically stacked, one above the other or in tandem. The delivery tube communicates with the measuring chamber at one end, extends through the reservoir, and at the opposite end, communicates with the apertures of the dispenser. Bettman U.S. Pat. No. 1,084,530; Buckland U.S. Pat. No. 1,270,262; Abbott U.S. Pat. No. 1,707,967; Cagliostro U.S. Pat. No. 1,877,808; Trautvetter U.S. Pat. No. 1,763,449; Gordon U.S. Pat. No. 2,644,616; and Feuerstein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,434,921 are exemplary of this type of dispenser. While these dispensers deliver a predetermined amount of material, they are not reconfigurable or adjustable for dispensing variable quantities of material.
Yet another metered material dispenser is disclosed in Jones et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,269,983. Therein, a measuring cup is disposed in combination with an end of the dispenser for receiving material when the dispenser is face-up, i.e., with the dispensing end facing upwardly. Furthermore, when the dispenser is inverted, material flows into a passageway defined by and between co-axial, cylindrical containers. Once in the passageway, the material flows downwardly and out of a dispensing end cap or diffuser. The configuration and spacing of the containers does not permit excess material to be dispensed, even when vigorously agitated.
Eckman U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,521 discloses an adjustable metered dispenser useful for delivering seasonings such as salt and pepper. Eckman's dispenser comprises two chambers arranged in seriatim. The first chamber is a material reservoir and the second chamber is a measuring chamber. Eckman's dispenser exhibits an ability to close the metering chamber from the reservoir chamber when the material is dispensed. Thus, in order avoid over-dispensing, the user must be sure that the passageway between the two chambers is closed.
Krupic U.S. Pat. No. 5,169,049 also discloses a shaker for dispensing seasonings such as salt and pepper. The shaker comprises three chambers: a material reservoir chamber, a measuring chamber and a dispensing chamber. The reservoir chamber is disposed between the measuring chamber and the dispensing chamber while a delivery tube communicates with the measuring chamber and the dispensing chamber. When the dispenser not in use, the measuring chamber faces downwardly. During use, the dispenser is inverted, and the dispensing chamber is filled with the material from the measuring chamber. The material must then be dispensed by shaking the dispenser in the inverted position to evacuate the material from the dispensing chamber via a plurality of apertures. In order to prevent over dispensing, one embodiment of the device includes shake-back guards within the reservoir chamber.
While dispensers such as those disclosed in the Eckman '521 and Krupic '049 patents provide adjustable metering of material, they are complex, costly to manufacture, and prone to failure. With respect to the latter, it will be appreciated that any material dispenser which employs valving or other moving elements can lead to accretion of material and malfunction of the dispenser. On the other hand, dispensers such as that disclosed in the Jones et al. '983 patent, while simple and inexpensive, lack the ability to deliver variable quantities of material.
A need therefore exists for a dispenser which is non-complex, inexpensive to fabricate, reusable, and versatile, i.e., capable of dispensing variable quantities of a material or dispensing a variety of different materials.